2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 133rd edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887.

2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Championship details
Dates31 October 2020 – 19 December 2020
Teams31
All-Ireland Champions
Winning teamDublin (30th win)
CaptainStephen Cluxton
ManagerDessie Farrell
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamMayo
CaptainAidan O'Shea
ManagerJames Horan
Provincial Champions
MunsterTipperary
LeinsterDublin
UlsterCavan
ConnachtMayo
Championship statistics
No. matches played29
Goals total59 (2.03 per game)
Points total803 (27.68 per game)
Top Scorer Cillian O'Connor (5-40)
← 2019
2021 →

The public health measures introduced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the competition being delayed.[1] On 17 March, the GAA confirmed that the opening fixture – due to have taken place at Gaelic Park in The Bronx on 3 May – had been postponed.[2] In June, the GAA announced that the 2020 championship would be straight knock-out, the first straight-knockout since 2000.[3]

Thirty teams took part – thirty of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland. New York were unable to participate due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. London will play no part in the 2020 All-Ireland championships after a meeting of the GAA's Ard Chomhairle on 12 September 2020. Sligo withdrew also due to a COVID-19 outbreak from 3 November.

London were initially scheduled to host Roscommon at Ruislip at the beginning of May, before all GAA activity was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael Maher's team were then set to play their rescheduled Connacht football quarter-final on the weekend of 31 October, with the winner facing Mayo or Leitrim the following weekend. Roscommon advanced directly into the semi-final.

The Galway vs Sligo Connacht semi-final was not played as Sligo were affected by COVID-19 cases. Galway's first match was the Connacht final and the Connacht championship only had four teams instead of the usual seven. It happened before Galway to qualify for Connacht final without playing any matches during the period that all Connacht finals were between Galway and Mayo (1933-1940).

It emerged that in order for London's quarter-final to take place their entire squad and backroom team would have to self-isolate in Ireland for two weeks prior to the match. Kilkenny, as in previous years, did not enter.

Galway were declared winners against both New York and Sligo. Also Roscommon were declared winners over London.

Initially the GAA intended to introduce the Tailteann Cup, a second-tier championship for Division 3 and 4 National Football League teams who failed to reach their provincial finals or get promoted to Division 2 of the league.[4][5] The Tailteann Cup was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and as resceduled for introduction in 2021.

Dublin are the defending champions, later complete an unprecedented six-in-a-row.

Competition format

Provincial Championships format

Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. Most of the teams who lost a match in their provincial championship entered the All-Ireland qualifiers in the years prior to 2020 – New York did not enter the qualifiers.[6][7][8][9] As the championship was delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the qualifiers were abandoned with all matches being changed to straight knock-out.

If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes, two periods of ten minutes each way are played. If the score is still level the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out.

All-Ireland format

The four provincial champions compete in the semi-finals. If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes in a semi-final, two periods of ten minutes each way are played. If the score is still level the semi-final is replayed. If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes in the final, the match is replayed.

Rule changes from 2019 competition
Advanced Mark

Initially trialled in the 2019 Leagues, the advanced mark rule was introduced in 2020. The possibility of an advanced mark occurs when a player catches a ball cleanly on or inside a 45m line from a kick in play delivered by an attacking player on or beyond the opposition's 45m line that travels at least 20m and without touching the ground. The player who catches the ball, either an attacker or defender, can signal his intent to stop and take the free-kick resulting from the mark by raising an arm or play on immediately.[5]

Sin-bin

A player who commits a black card offence is sent off the pitch to the sin-bin for ten minutes. Teams are not permitted to replace the player while he is in the sin-bin. If a player commits another black card offence or a yellow card offence after returning to the field he is also given a red card.[5]

Kick-out

Goalkeepers must take their kick-out from the 20 metre line (previously kick-outs were taken from the 13 metre line). The ball must be kicked forward and all players must be 13 metres from the ball until it has been kicked.[5]

Following a motion proposed by Kildare at the GAA Congress on 28 September 2020, the kick-out rule was further modified so that an outfield player receiving a ball direct from the kick-out cannot play the ball back to their goalkeeper. Unusually, the "no back-pass" modification was not trialled before its introduction in the 2020 senior championship.

Provincial championships

Connacht Senior Football Championship
Quarter-Finals
 Semi-Finals Final
     
        Galway w/o  
        Sligo conc  
          Galway 0-13
          Mayo 0-14
        Roscommon 0-13
Mayo 2-15     Mayo 1-16    
Leitrim 0-10  

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final
15 November 2020 (2020-11-15)
13:30 GMT (UTC+0)
Final
Galway 0-13 (13) – (14) 0-14 Mayo
(HT: 0-05 - 0-08)

Pts: S Walsh 7 (4f), P Conroy 3, D Conneely 1, P Kelly 1, G O’Donnell 1.
Pts: C O’Connor 4 (2f), T Conroy 3, M Ruane 2, B Walsh 2, P Durcan 1, D O’Connor 1, R O’Donoghue 1.
Pearse Stadium, Galway
Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)
Attendance: 0[note 1]

Leinster Senior Football Championship
Preliminary Round
 Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Final
Carlow 0-20  
Offaly 3-14     Offaly 0-16  
        Kildare 0-20  
          Kildare 0-15  
Wexford 0-11       Meath 5-09  
Wicklow 2-09     Wicklow 0-07  
        Meath 7-14  
          Meath 0-09
Louth 1-07       Dublin 3-21
Longford 1-09     Longford 1-14  
        Laois 1-16  
          Laois 0-07  
          Dublin 2-23  
        Westmeath 0-11      
        Dublin 0-22      
     

First Round

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final
Main article: 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final
21 November 2020 (2020-11-21)
19:00 GMT (UTC+0)
Final
Meath 0-09 (9) – (30) 3-21 Dublin
(HT: 0-02 - 2-12)

Pts: J Morris 4 (1f); B Menton 1, C O'Sullivan 1, J Scully 1; T O'Reilly 1 (f); J Wallace 1 (m).		 Gls: D Rock 1, S Bugler 1, N Scully 1.
Pts: D Rock 7 (5f, 1 '45'); C Kilkenny 4; P Small 3 (2m); C O'Callaghan 2; S Bugler 2, J Small 1; P Mannion 1 (f), N Scully 1.
Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: Derek O'Mahoney (Tipperary)
Attendance: 0[note 1]

Munster Senior Football Championship

The two teams who won the semi-finals in the previous year are given byes to this year's semi-finals.

Quarter-Finals
 Semi-Finals Final
     
        Waterford 0-9  
        Limerick 2-14  
          Limerick 2-11  
          Tipperary 1-15  
        Tipperary 2-11  
        Clare 1-11  
          Tipperary 0-17
          Cork 0-14
             
             
          Cork 1-12  
          Kerry 0-13  
                 
                 
     

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final
Main article: 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship Final
22 November 2020 (2020-11-22)
13:30 GMT (UTC+0)
Final
Tipperary 0-17 (17) – (14) 0-14 Cork
(HT: 0-11 - 0-07)

Pts: C Sweeney 7 (2fs, 2m); M Quinlivan 5 (1f); L Casey 2 (f); K Fahey 1, E Comerford 1 (free), P Austin 1.
Pts: L Connolly 4 (2fs, 1 45), M Collins 4 (4fs); J O’Rourke 2; C O’Callaghan 1, B Hurley 1, S White 1, C O’Mahony 1 (f).

Ulster Senior Football Championship

An un-seeded draw determined the fixtures for all nine teams. In April 2018, the Ulster GAA Competitions Control Committee introduced a rule that the two teams who play in the preliminary round are exempt from playing in the preliminary round in the following two years.[10] As a result of the draw for 2020, Cavan and Monaghan are awarded byes to the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2022.

Preliminary Round
 Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Final
     
        Donegal 1-13  
        Tyrone 1-11  
          Donegal 1-22  
          Armagh 0-13  
        Derry 0-15  
        Armagh 0-17  
          Donegal 0-12
          Cavan 1-13
        Fermanagh 0-11  
        Down 1-15  
          Down 1-13  
          Cavan 1-14  
        Antrim 0-9      
Monaghan 1-17     Cavan 0-13      
Cavan 2-15  

Preliminary Round

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final
22 November 2020 (2020-11-22)
16:00 GMT (UTC+0)
Donegal 0-12 (12) – (16) 1-13 Cavan
(HT: 0-09 - 0-07)

Pts: P McBrearty 4 (2f), N O’Donnell, C McGonigle 2, R McHugh 1, P Mogan 1, M Langan 1, M Murphy 1.		 Gls: C Madden 1.
Pts: C Madden 2, J Smith 2, O Kiernan 2, G McKiernan 2 (2f), J McLoughlin 1, G Smith 1, C Brady 1, T Galligan 1, M Reilly 1.
Athletic Grounds, Armagh
Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)
Attendance: 0[note 1]

All-Ireland

All Ireland Series
Semi-Finals Final
      
Dublin 1-24
Cavan 0-12
Dublin 2-14
Mayo 0-15
Mayo 5-20
Tipperary 3-13

All-Ireland Semi-Finals
5 December 2020 (2020-12-05)
17:30 GMT (UTC+0)
Semi-Final
Dublin 1-24 (27) – (12) 0-12 Cavan
(HT: 0-12 – 0-07)
Gls: R McDaid 1
Pts: D Rock 6 (2f); C Kilkenny 4 (1m), C O’Callaghan 4, B Fenton 4; R McDaid 2, P Small 2 (1f); B Howard 1, C Costello 1.
Pts: M Reilly 3; O Kiernan 2; J Smith 1, R Galligan 1, C Brady 1, G McKiernan 1 (f), C Conroy 1 (f), C Madden 1, J Smith 1.
Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: Ciaran Branagan (Down)
Attendance: 0[note 1]
6 December 2020 (2020-12-06)
15:30 GMT (UTC+0)
Semi-Final
Mayo 5-20 (35) – (22) 3-13 Tipperary
(HT: 4-12 – 1-05)
Gls: C O'Connor 4, D O'Connor 1.
Pts: C O’Connor 9 (6fs); T Conroy 4 (1m); D Coen 2; M Ruane 1, P Durcan 1, K McLoughlin 1, A O’Shea 1, C Loftus 1.		 Gls: C Sweeney 1, B Fox 1, P Feehan 1.
Pts: C Sweeney 9 (8fs); C O’Riordan 2; S O’Brien 1, K Fahey 1.

All-Ireland Final
Main article: 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
19 December 2020 (2020-12-19)
17:00 GMT (UTC+0)
Final
Dublin 2-14 (20) – (15) 0-15 Mayo
(HT: 2-06 - 0-10)
Gls: D Rock 1, C O'Callaghan 1.
Pts: D Rock 4 (fs); C Kilkenny 3; C O'Callaghan 1, S Bugler 1, P Small 1, N Scully 1, B Fenton 1, P Mannion 1 (f), B Howard 1.
Pts: C O’Connor 9 (5fs, 2ms); R O’Donoghue 2; O Mullen 1, C Loftus 1, S Coen 1 (m), D Coen 1.
Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: D Coldrick (Meath)
Attendance: 0[note 1]

Stadia and locations
Locations of stadia used during the championship
Stadia
County Location Stadium Capacity
Cavan Cavan Breffni Park 32,000
Cork Cork Páirc Uí Chaoimh 45,000
Derry Derry Celtic Park 22,000
Donegal Ballybofey MacCumhaill Park 18,000
Fermanagh Enniskillen Brewster Park 20,000
Dublin Drumcondra Croke Park 82,300
Galway Galway Pearse Stadium 26,197
Laois Portlaoise O'Moore Park 27,000
Leitrim Carrick-on-Shannon Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada 9,331
Monaghan Clones St. Tiernach's Park 36,000
Offaly Tullamore O'Connor Park 20,000
Roscommon Roscommon Dr. Hyde Park 25,000
Tipperary Thurles Semple Stadium 45,690
Waterford Dungarvan Fraher Field 15,000
Westmeath Mullingar Cusack Park 11,000
Wexford Wexford Wexford Park 20,000

Referees panel
Championship Panel
Name County Club Matches refereed
BRANAGAN, Ciaran Down
CASSIDY, Barry Derry Bellaghy
CAWLEY, Brendan Kildare
COLDRICK, David Meath Blackhall Gaels
DEEGAN, Maurice Laois
FALOON, Paul Down
GOUGH, David Meath Slane
HENRY, Jerome Mayo
HURSON, Sean Tyrone
KELLY, Fergal Longford
LANE, Conor Cork
MCNALLY, Martin Monaghan
MCQUILLAN, Joe Cavan
O'MAHONEY, Derek Tipperary

Championship Statistics
  • All scores correct as of 7 December 2020[11]

Top Scorer: Overall
Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average
1 Cillian O'Connor Mayo 5-40 55 5 11.0
2 Conor Sweeney Tipperary 2-27 33 4 8.2
3 Dean Rock Dublin 1-26 29 5 5.8
4 Ciaran Kilkenny Dublin 1-20 23 5 4.6
5 Jordan Morris Meath 4-09 21 3 7
6 Gearoid McKiernan Cavan 0-12 12 5 2.4
Con O'Callaghan Dublin 1-09 12 5 2.4
8 Ronan O'Neill Armagh 0-11 11 2 5.5
Cian Farrell Offaly 0-11 11 2 5.5
Donal O'Hare Down 1-08 11 2 5.5
Tommy Conroy Mayo 1-08 11 5 2.2
Martin Reilly Cavan 2-05 11 5 2.2
Seán Bugler Dublin 2-05 11 5 2.2
14 Gary Walsh Laois 0-10 10 2 5
Sam Mulroy Louth 1-07 10 1 10

Top Scorer: Single game
Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition
1 Cillian O'Connor Mayo 4-09 21 Tipperary
2 Jordan Morris Meath 3-04 13 Wicklow
3 Cillian O'Connor Mayo 1-09 12 Leitrim
Conor Sweeney Tipperary 1-09 12 Mayo
5 Dean Rock Dublin 1-07 10 Meath
Sam Mulroy Louth 1-07 10 Longford
7 Cillian O'Connor Mayo 0-09 9 Roscommon
Cillian O'Connor Mayo 0-09 9 Dublin
9 Paul Broderick Carlow 0-08 8 Offaly
Gary Walsh Laois 0-08 8 Longford

Scoring Events
  • Widest winning margin: 28
  • Most goals in a match: 8
  • Most points in a match: 36
  • Most goals by one team in a match: 7
  • Highest aggregate score: 57 points
  • Lowest aggregate score: 22 points

Miscellaneous
  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the All-Ireland Qualifiers and Super 8 Games were not played.
  • Sligo, London and New York withdrew from Connacht championship, meaning that only four teams competed.
  • Kerry lost their only championship match, making it their first championship without a win since 1993. They had reached the quarter-final stage every year since its introduction in 2001.
  • Dublin set a new record by becoming the first team to win six successive All-Irelands, and were also the first to win ten successive Leinster Championship titles.
  • Mayo also set a record: ten final defeats in a row (1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020).
  • Tipperary won their first Munster Championship title since 1935.
  • Cavan won their first Ulster Championship title and reached the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 1997.
  • The four provincial winners were exactly the same as the four provincial winners from 100 years earlier in 1920. Cavan also playing Dublin and Mayo also playing Tipperary, confirmed on the weekend of the centenary of Bloody Sunday due to the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]
  • Cillian O'Connor's four goals (accompanied by nine points) in the 2020 All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park broke the 5–3 record set by Johnny Joyce of Dublin in 1960 and matched with 3–9 by Rory Gallagher of Fermanagh in 2002 for the highest individual scorer in any championship football match.[13][14]
  • Dublin also scored the fastest goal in the history of the All Ireland final when Dean Rock netted after just 12 seconds.
  • Dublin played five championship games en route to their All Ireland success without conceding a goal in all five matches, another impressive record.
  • Dublin extended their record-breaking unbeaten streak to 42 consecutive championship games, as of 25 December 2020. This amounts to 39 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses.

Notes
  1. The game was played behind closed doors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

References
  1. "A comprehensive guide as Irish and global sport shuts down in effort to contain spread of Covid-19". Irish Independent. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. Cormican, Eoghan (18 March 2020). "Galway and New York clash first major casualty of pandemic". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. "Saturday football final as 2020 Championships finalised". 26 June 2020 – via www.rte.ie. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Two tier Football Championship format to be introduced". GAA.ie. 19 October 2019.
  5. "GAA Special Congress 2019: The motions explained". GAA.ie. 19 October 2019.
  6. "Connacht Championship @ GAA.ie".
  7. "Leinster Championship @ GAA.ie".
  8. "Munster Championship @ GAA.ie".
  9. "Ulster Championship @ GAA.ie".
  10. "Ulster SFC format to change from 2020". www.hoganstand.com. Hoganstand.com. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. "Results". Hogan Stand. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  12. "Repeat of 1920 All-Ireland semi-finals confirmed on weekend of Bloody Sunday commemoration". The42. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  13. "Cillian O'Connor the record-breaker as Tipperary fairytale ends". Joe. 6 December 2020.
  14. "O'Connor breaks All-Ireland scoring record with 4-9". Hogan Stand. 6 December 2020.
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